Eskis on the lookout for new players

Training camp begins in Timmins, Aug. 3

By Vincent Man, The Daily Press

The road to a second-straight title begins on Aug. 3.

That's when the reigning Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League champion Abitibi Eskimos will begin their training camp. The first week of the tryouts will take place at the McIntyre Arena in Timmins.

Unlike last year when the Eskis had the majority of their players return from the previous season, there will be a number of roster spots up for grabs. There will likely be more than 10 new players to sign, said general manager and head coach Paul Gagne.

"We're going to rebuild a little bit, but by bringing in 19- and 20-year-olds," Gagne said.

"There's no pressure because we do have some players who have been with us (for a couple of years). We'll have an addition here and an addition there throughout the season to balance things out a bit to develop a strong hockey club."

Already confirming their returns to the Igloo are Nick Beaudoin, Joel Roy and Josh Clancy, who led the NOJHL with 42 regular-season goals last season.

The Eskis have also re-acquired forward Dustin Roy. Roy played two season for Abitibi, leaving the team at the end of the 2008-09 season. He last played for the K and A Wolverines of the Superior International Junior Hockey League.

Abitibi went 40-7-3 in the regular season before beating the Soo Thunderbirds in seven games for the league championship.

The title was the Eskis' first since joining the NOJHL in 1999.

The first week of the training camp will be held in Timmins from Aug. 3-6. Following that week, the Eskis will take a break, before picking it back up on Aug. 16 in Iroquois Falls.

Prospective players are asked to go to www.eskis.com for more information on the training camp and downloadable forms.

The Eskis will begin the regular season on Sept. 8 in Sudbury against the Junior Wolves.

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The Eskis' head coach will also be running the fifth-annual Gagne Hockey Development school from Aug. 3-6 at The Mac.

At 90% full, the camp still has vacancies for young (7-16) hockey players.

For more information, go to gagnehockeydevelopment.com.

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Gagne will also be the head instructor of the Abitibi Eskimos 3 vs. 3 Hockey Conditioning Camp.

The program will be held at the Jus Jordan Arena in Iroquois Falls from Aug. 16-21.

Each day of the camp will include conditioning drills in the morning and 3-on-3 sessions in the afternoon.

"I think the kids will like it, and so will the parents," Gagne said. "They look forward to their kids going to tryouts and they like getting them on the ice early. This way, they'll get some conditioning, and in the afternoon, it'll be competitive. The 3-on-3 isn't a bad deal."

For more information on the camp, go to www.eskis.com.